UN Syria envoy hails 'significant drop in violence'

The UN’s Syria envoy on Tuesday applauded a fall in violence through the first 24 hours of a fragile ceasefire but said security concerns meant aid convoys had not yet deployed. Staffan de Mistura told reporters that the powers which brokered the truce — the United States and Russia — would likely provide a full assessment of the pact in the coming days or hours. Possible ceasefire violations included mortar shelling by some opposition groups along the Castello Road, the key supply route to the battleground city of Aleppo, de Mistura said.